Hope for Ebola Vaccine

Ebola is still a world crisis. Though the overall rate of infected people has slowed, some pockets in Africa have increased infections. It could still spread to Europe, Asia and the US. If it does spread this wide, control will be virtually impossible.

Some form of effective treatment has to be found - fast. The blood of survivors has been seen has the most probable source of a vaccine. However, any form of treatment should be examined for its usefulness.

In Australia a vaccine tested on monkeys holds out great hope. The Kunjin treatment has been created from engineering the Ebola virus protein. Monkeys were given the vaccine and they showed significant protection from the disease. Seventy five per cent of the monkeys kept their resistance.

Much research was based on tests on rodents. Success on them did not mean that vaccines would work on humans, so tests on primates is beginning. Scientists must get a move on to create a successful vaccine. Ninety per cent of infected people die.